


Holiday Highlights

by PetalsToFish



Series: Alternate Universe Jily (Muggle) [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Lily Evans Potter, F/M, First Christmas, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Halloween, Haunted Houses, New Year's Eve, goofy fluff, heart eyes James Potter, new years day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetalsToFish/pseuds/PetalsToFish
Summary: James Potter meets Lily Evans after she punches him in a haunted house on Halloween. He shouldn't be so attracted to a woman who literally made him bleed, but he guessed that's what Nazareth meant when they sang 'Love Hurts'. (three chapter drabble series that focuses on Halloween, Christmas and New Years)
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Alternate Universe Jily (Muggle) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199825
Comments: 32
Kudos: 142





	1. Halloween

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gryffindormischief](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gryffindormischief/gifts).



The blood was already gushing out of James Potter's nose before the girl had even finished screaming. Haunted houses aren't exactly the best place to meet the prettiest girl on earth, let alone scare her into throwing a punch, yet here he was. Three hours into his six hour shift. Excellent.

To be fair, James was just trying to do his job. He shouldn't feel guilty for scaring her but the pretty woman was in shock, her hands covering her horrified expression. James was leaning against a cobweb covered wall, trying to stop his bloody nose from ruining the expensive costume he put on every night to scare the masses. The haunted house was themed as a 1920's mental hospital and naturally, he was a zombie doctor on most days. The chainsaw on the floor on his feet was usually aimed at his victims. James wished he could say this was the first time he'd accidentally been punched, but he couldn't.

That didn't change the fact that this petite redhead knew how to throw a punch and James hadn't been prepared. She'd entered his section with her eyes alert and face tense, as if she'd been daring the actors to even try and scare her. Normally people who looked like her simply smirked or did partial screams as they ran into the next section.

Clearly her stubborn look had been used to mask her absolute terror and fright. She was barely five foot two, which made her assault even more impressive considering James was six feet. The girl had a friend at her side, a pretty blonde wearing a black sweater with stars.

"Oh!" James' assaulter elbowed her friend, "Look what you made me do!"

"I can't believe you punched him!" the friend replied, "you know this shit isn't real!"

"I'm fine," James lied, if only because the girl was pretty hot and he didn't want to scare her away by being a sob baby, "I swear, I'm good!"

The blonde sent him a doubtful look, "you're bleeding all over your costume."

"It adds to the authenticity." James said.

His fellow zombie actor and best friend, Sirius, was grabbing the first aid kit. One of the other actors called out on the radio to halt the groups due to actor injury. The girl, still upset, let her hands fall to reveal a guilty expression. She looked close to tears.

"I am so sorry," she gushed to James, "I told her not to take me through this house! I've never been good at horror movies! I'm more of a Rom-Com girl!"

Her friend, the blonde, looked like she regretted everything too. The girls were given a once over by the manager, who came racing in with little information. When the manager noted the girls were injury free, he turned to find James covered in his own blood. On top of that, the blood was getting all over the floor, which was a biohazard. Over the radio, they called for pause in guests being sent through the haunted house. The manager started pulling everyone involved behind the walls, including the traumatized girl who was trying to look for something in her handbag. James tenderly touched his nose as Sirius raced over with gauze.

"I don't think it's broken," James sputtered through blood, "just bleeding."

"I'm sorry," the girl continued to apologize, "I think my fight or flight response kicked in."

"That's a wicked left serve," James said as he accepted the gauze from Sirius and tried shoving it up his nose.

The girl pulled a plastic pink wrap from her bag as she replied sheepishly, "I take a boxing class twice a week."

James blinked at her through the hazy stage lights mixed with fake fog. She was holding out the plastic wrap to him. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. James looked down to her small hand and tilted his head.

"What's that?" He asked.

"A tampon does wonders for a bloody nose." She quipped easily, "better than gauze."

James tossed the gauze aside and reached for the plastic wrap. He ripped open the casing as blood continued to leak from his nose and onto his costume. The shaped cotton fit into his left nostril perfectly, stemming the bleeding. The girl leaned closer to him, adjusting the cotton on his nose for him. James was struck by her smile when she offered him a goofy grin as she took the plastic wrap out of his hand.

"I'd leave that in for at least ten minutes," she warned him as she stood up straight.

"You seem well practiced in bloody noses," he didn't know why his voice got lower as he talked to the pretty girl dressed in ripped jeans and a black tank top.

She laughed and it shocked James to his toes. Her laughter was contagious, making James and her friend break into smiles. The girl placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head at James.

"In boxing I learned to throw a punch," she said, "but more importantly, I learned how to take a hit."

James felt like she'd hit him again, this time with her laughter. He slumped in his chair as Sirius looked between the girl and James noticeably. The girl's companion seemed ready to move on.

"Ready to finish the house, Lily?"

James' assaulter, Lily, turned back to her friend, "I don't think that's a great idea, Marlene."

"I'll make sure you don't punch anyone else."

"We're done here, Marley." Lily said, "I mean it."

The girls seemed to be having silent communication. Lily raised a brow at her friend, who simply rolled her eyes in response. Lily turned back to James, licking her lips worriedly.

"You sure that you'll be okay?" She asked him, "I just feel so bad, honestly. I can run and get some ice-or a drink-whatever I can do to help."

"Unsurprisingly, James gets hit a lot." Sirius placed a hand on James' shoulder as a literal, and figurative, wing man.

Lily's red brows shot to her hairline, "a lot?"

Sirius spoke up before James could, "yeah, he gets hit on at least three times a night."

James wiped Sirius' hand away as his best friend burst into laughter. The girl's mouth flickered up, amused by Sirius' joke. James was too caught up on her reaction to be too embarrassed by Sirius' foul play. Lily turned her playful eyes back on James when she was done with Sirius. Her eyes traveled slowly across his face through the darkness. He wished he could see what color they were but it was too dark.

"I guess he's pretty cute for a zombie doctor." Lily said.

James could not help the red flush that spread across his face. "You should see me in the daytime."

Lily twirled her red hair around her finger, "let me guess, the sun comes up and you turn into Prince Charming?"

James must've looked a mess, bloody with a tampon shoved up his nose. Despite this, the prettiest girl with a decent punch, was looking him up and down coyly. James stood up and held out his hand to the woman.

"James Potter." He offered, "zombie doctor by night, pre-vet student by day."

Lily grabbed his hand and shook it, "Lily Evans," she said in her musical voice, "Zombie slayer by night, book editor by day."

James dropped her hand only to make his fingers ruffle through his already messy black hair, "nice to meet you."

"I promise I didn't purposely mean to punch you." She said, "I truly did tell Marlene that I couldn't handle a haunted house."

James smiled, "my guess is that you'll be better suited when we turn into Christmas Town starting November 10th."

She had a wicked smile when she asked, "are you Santa or an elf, in that production?"

James used his fingers to feign antlers, "I work with the reindeer."

Lily grabbed her friend's arm as she looked him up and down once more, "Marlene and I will have to come check out the reindeer."

"You should." James encouraged, "I hear their zookeeper is quite the looker."

"Hm," Lily mused, "remains to be seen."

James ruffled his hair again, "Happy Halloween."

She giggled before replying, "Happy Halloween!"

James waved after the girls as they were escorted out of the haunted house. James knew Lily didn't need to go through anymore scare actors with her wicked punch. Five seconds later, James heard new screams two walls away. The house was back up and running, meaning the break was over. James looked at Sirius with a wide grin. Sirius only rolled his eyes.

"You look ridiculous with a tampon up your nose."

"You're just jealous because for once a girl was looking at _me_ , not _you_." James shot back.

Sirius checked his reflection in a mirror, "that's only because she punched you in your face."

"And i'd probably let her do it again, to be honest." James adjusted his bloody white shirt, "I hope she comes back for Christmas Town."

Sirius snorted, "mind out of fantasy-land, James, we have to go back on stage and scare people."

"And?"

"And you are far from scary with that stupid smirk on your face."

James had a hard time erasing his grin the rest of the night. Even as he was changing out of his bloodied costume into a new one he was smiling like a fool. Every time there was a lull in people walking through his section, his mind drifted back to the girl. It got bad enough that finally, after two hours of suboptimal scaring, his manager sent him home. James hoped that he would see her again for Christmas Town, if only because he really wanted to ask her out on a date. Only time would tell, of course, but he was eager for the opportunity to talk to her again.


	2. Christmas

Going straight from Halloween to Christmas was the epitome of holiday highlights that seemed to flutter through the calendar like a joke. In the blind of an eye the world went from _Stranger Things_ to It's _A Wonderful Life_. There were carolers replacing ghost tours. The city streets were covered in jingle bells instead of fallen leaves.

On October 31st James was scaring the absolute daylights out of university students, getting punched in the face by pretty girls and eating too much candy. On November 1st, on the opposite end of the spectrum, he was hanging fairy lights on Christmas trees.

"We don't even get a break like Americans." He complained to his best friend Sirius, "they get to celebrate Thanksgiving and we just skip right into mistletoe Hell."

"You're just grumpy because no one wants to snog you under the mistletoe." Sirius countered, "so shut up and keep stringing lights."

"At least the deer get here soon and I can stop being an elf." James said eagerly, "I'm gonna be a veterinarian, not a tree trimmer."

"Yeah," Sirius snorted, "you're too grumpy to be an elf."

James shot his friend a look, "finals are coming up and you know that turns me into an absolute terror."

James was hired by the local park to prepare for the arrival of 4 reindeer from a local zoological park for Christmas Town. For a first year veterinary student, James supposed it could be worse. He'd taken the job in the first place just to work with the reindeer. There was just something about deer that James vibed with.

Sirius told James he was a freak for loving deer more than any other animal on earth. James had to admit, elephants were cool and killer whales were wicked...but deer were flighty little buggers with a nasty kick. Naturally, James loved them.

He'd worked with the reindeer the year before and the owners had begged James to come back, simply because he was one of the few in the immediate area with actual exotic animal experience. Most of James' fellow vet students lived closer to the University but James preferred being closer to his family. That's why he turned into a commuter and drove a half hour each way every weekday.

Now that he was gearing up for finals though, James knew he was going to hate himself for agreeing to work at the reindeer habitat again all Christmas season. He joked that he was going to be sleeping in that barn just to save himself time. He never imagined his joke would come true two weeks into the endeavor of balancing school and reindeer.

Christmas Town got four all new female reindeer that year and they were all badly in need of attention. James joked that he had four girlfriends when his Uni friends asked him to stay late for study group. Instead of hanging out with his fellow students, James took care of the four deer and studied alone under lantern light as people walked around Christmas Town. For the most part, he ignored the passerby, and the deer did too.

The worst part was the reindeer feed when the parents brought their screaming children over to feed the deer some carrots and reindeer kibble that smelled suspiciously like dog kibble. James was the handler, so he handled not only the four reindeer, but the literally hundred or so people who wanted to feed a reindeer and post the pictures to Instagram.

Between finals, working the reindeer area and the fact that he wasn't sleeping longer than four hours a night...James was starting to scoff when silent night came on the radio.

"Silent Night." He mocked the small handheld in the barn, "I haven't had a silent night in weeks."

Mistletoe, the youngest of the deer, looked around when James spoke. Her little face was wrapped with a white and red halter that had a bow in the back of her head. She looked precious and it distracted him from his bad mood long enough.

Surprisingly, almost ironically, the Friday after he finished finals the park was dead. There were one or two families walking up and down the lightened pathways. James could hear them in the barn as they complimented the lighting effects that year. The reindeer seemed to enjoy the peace and all settled into their hay. James settled too, content to coast the rest of the night with the assumption no one would look for the four reindeer or their keeper.

He had dozed off, completely, so he jolted awake when he heard a high pitched laugh. When he caught himself he looked at the barn door where a woman in a beanie and flannel green shirt was leaning. Her coat was zipped open but it was so puffy it clearly had no trouble keeping her warm in the wintry conditions. The woman had her arms crossed and she was smirking at James with a very familiar smile.

James launched to his feet, going red in the face as he brushed hay off himself. That only made her laugh again as she pushed herself off the doorway and into the warmer barn. Her eyes were as green as they'd been the day they met.

When she punched him in his face. He was willing to overlook that detail, since he had been dressed as a zombie doctor at the time.

"Lily," she reminded him coyly before asking, "do you often sleep on the job?"

James beamed stupidly at her, the pretty woman, who could probably kick his ass. Her beanie was pushing down her red curls. It somehow only made her look more attractive.

"I just finished finals." He confessed, "so I'm catching up."

"Well, I'm sure it's fine," she joked and motioned to the deer who were sleeping in their stalls, "Prancer, Dancer, Comet and Vixen are all sleeping too."

James gave a short laugh, "their names are actually Mistletoe, Amaya, Joy and Prongs."

Lily's eyebrows flew into her beanie, "Prongs?"

James shrugged, "I didn't name 'em."

Lily licked her lips as she turned back to him with inquisitive eyes, "can I meet one?"

James jumped at the chance to do something besides stare at her stupidly, so he just nodded like a bobble head and went to Mistletoe's stall. When he unlatched the gate, Mistletoe opened her eyes.

"Hey sweet girl," he hummed softly, "someone wants to meet you tonight."

The deer used her front legs to lift herself off the warmed hay and snorted out a bit of air. James glanced back to see that Lily's coy face had erupted into childlike joy as Mistletoe walked over. The little star on Mistletoe's forehead was rumpled from sleeping but the doe's eyes were clear and awake.

"Is she friendly?" Lily asked.

"How the hell did you know this was a girl?" James stared at her in shock, so used to having to correct people.

Lily pulled a carrot from her jacket with a sheepish grin, "I might've spent the last day researching reindeer so that I wouldn't sound like an idiot in front of the boy I accidentally punched in a haunted house."

James couldn't help it, he burst out laughing, "you spent all day looking up reindeer facts?"

"Deer in general to be honest but the reindeer wiki said females are the ones with antlers this time of year," she smiled wider when Mistletoe headed in her direction for the carrot, "hello, girl."

"Deer in general?" James confirmed, "so you researched _all_ deer species?"

Lily shrugged, "I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to animals."

James felt a kick in the gut at those words. Clever, witty and she loved animals! He felt like he was on cloud nine. She was everything he looked for in a girl. It also helped that she was probably the prettiest woman he'd ever seen. Like, Blake Lively gorgeous.

"Yeah same." Was all he managed to say.

"I should hope so, since you're studying to be a vet."

The silence fell around them as she pet Mistletoe's neck. She even seemed to know the animals didn't like their faces touched. She was perfectly professional with Mistletoe and the reindeer was pleased, even going so far as too nuzzle Lily for more pets. James watched them both with an intense gaze, recognizing the churn in his stomach as something akin to butterflies.

Lily pulled another carrot from her pocket, seeming content to just be in the presence of the reindeer. The other deer had realized there were carrots and were begging over the edges of their own stalls.

Lily looked at James again after a while, "how's your nose?"

"Just fine," he touched his nose to show her, "I survived your ruthless attack."

"Good," Lily laughed, "I spent the whole night wondering if you were okay."

"I've had worse." He amended, "and I get a bonus every time I get punched, which helps pay for my classes."

"So what you're telling me is I should punch you again?" She tilted her head at him playfully as he put Mistletoe back in her stall, "get you some more hazard pay?"

"Unfortunately the bonus only worked in the Haunted House." He locked Mistletoe's door, "in Christmas Town we're left to fend for ourselves if we get punched, because it probably means we deserved it."

"You didn't deserve it in the haunted house either," Lily said firmly, "I am still mortified."

James took a shot at asking her out, "make it up to me with a drink?"

Lily shrugged without even thinking about it, "name the time and place!"

James nodded in the direction of the outside wonderland, "come grab a hot chocolate with me?"

She stared at him a moment before another smile lifted her lips and she replied, "that seems only fair."

The couple left the warmth of the reindeer barn and into the snowy backdrop of Christmas Town. Lighted trees and ice sculptures painted a romantic scenes as they slowly walked down the icy paths. Lily had her hands stuffed in her puffy jacket, her green eyes trained at the lighted ice sculptures. James had seen every inch of Christmas Town, meaning he had no reason to look away from her as she geeked out over ice sculptures.

When she finally caught him staring she paused in her compliments of the swan ice sculpture to tilt her head at him. He didn't bother pretending he wasn't looking at her.

"What?" She bit her lip, looking nervous for the first time since she came back into his life.

"Do you always exude such joy at things?" He asked, adjusting his glasses, "or are you just obsessed with ice sculptures."

"Unfortunately," she said with an easier grin, "I exude joy so much that my friends all say I'm sunshine."

"My friends say I'm an annoying git."

Lily bent her head back, laughing so loud that some people turned to look at her, "mine too, when they're not feeling my sunshine-y attitude."

James liked her bright attitude. It shone brighter than any other light display in the entire festival. They talked about her job as an editor over their hot chocolate and James had her laughing over another cup two hours later. Finally, as the night got colder and the lights got dimmer, she glanced at her watch.

"Oh shit." She muttered.

James asked, "what's wrong?"

"It's almost nine," she scrambled to grab her small purse before she gave him the widest smile, "I am so sorry, I'm house sitting for a friend tonight and tomorrow! I was supposed to be at her place twenty minutes ago."

James ruffled his hair, embarrassed when he saw hay from it. "It was great seeing you again."

"It was so nice to officially meet you." She started waving, "bye, James."

James waved back and she turned to walk to the exit of the park. He watched her go, only for Lily to turn suddenly on her heel and look back at him. She grew her brightest smile again, the one that put the snowflake lights over her head to shame. He was surprised when she turned completely and started rummaging through her purse.

"Did you forget something?" He asked her.

She pulled out a pen and grabbed his hand, "yeah, you need my number if we're going to meet up again."

"Again?" James couldn't believe his luck.

She finished writing her number on his hand before she leaned on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He stayed frozen to the spot as she lowered back into her heels. She was even redder on her cheeks.

"Gotta keep checking up on you," she turned away again, "make sure I didn't permanently disfigure that face."

James shouted after her, "I personally think you knocked my nose back into place!"

She laughed again and it warmed him to his toes as she retorted, "so you weren't born this ruggedly handsome?"

"I've been told it does come naturally!"

"Oh, that would take a bit more research!"

"Feel free to research my face anytime!"

She snorted and he flushed at how stupid he sounded. Her face grew soft over her shoulder. He could swear she was glowing below the lights as the snow swirled around her.

She sent him a wave, "Happy Christmas James!"

"Happy Christmas, Lily!"

He stood in the freezing cold for another ten minutes before heading to the barn to close up. Even though it started snowing, James felt warmer than he ever had. She might not have punched him this time, but he certainly felt like he'd been knocked out.

He texted her that night when he got home.

**James Potter to Lily:** _you looked beautiful tonight under the lights_

**James Potter to Lily:** _Also Mistletoe really likes you_

And then she didn't text him back.

One day passed, two days and then three.

By day four, he felt like his Christmas had suddenly turned as blue as Elvis described it on the radio. Despite feeling slighted, he held out hope that she would text him with an apology...or anything really. But his text chat stayed as silent as the night he fell head-over-heels for the girl who glowed like sunshine.


	3. New Years Eve

As far as highlights of the holiday, Lily had to rate New Years Eve at her sister's house as the least exciting thing she'd done.

Ever.

Instead of fun games, terrible beer and watching pop singers freeze on national television...Lily's sister had finger sandwiches, black and white movies with no sound and her monotonous husband. She didn't know how she ended up stuck at home with her sister on New Years but she thought it might be punishment for something she did in a previous life. Lily leaned back against her sister's sofa as she checked her watch, only five more hours until New Years. Lily didn't know if she would survive.

Outside, slush was falling from the sky. All the pretty snow from Christmas had melted and refrozen. The roads were all ice rinks that most cars struggled to drive on. That made it even harder to get her friends out on the town at the last minute.

Marlene claimed the weather had given her a headache. Dorcas promised her new girlfriend they'd spend time with her family. Alice didn't want to risk driving the streets with her fathers car. All those cancellations meant that she was trapped with her roommates.

Petunia was waddling around the kitchen, her pregnancy just far enough along that she was starting to complain. Petunia was so skinny though, one would think she just ate too many burgers as Wimpy's. Lily knew that if she ever got pregnant (ha!) she'd probably look like she swallowed a whole watermelon.

"Pet!" Lily shouted to her sister. "You're sure I can't help with anything?"

"I'm fine." Petunia said, "Vernon should be back soon with the cheese for the wine."

"Oh cheese," Lily muttered to herself sarcastically, "joy to the world, New Years is saved."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Lily replied sweetly, "just excited for wine!"

"Well," Petunia amended, "since I'm pregnant it's actually just sparkling apple juice."

Lily couldn't help it when she grabbed the closest pillow to muffle her tiny cry. She loved her sister, she did, but holy fuck. Lily didn't know how she was going to get drunk but she was determined because if she had to listen to Vernon talk about drills again, she wasn't going to do it sober. Not that Petunia's husband Vernon was awful, he was just incredibly hard to swallow to any normal person. Lily liked to consider herself marginally normal.

Lily recalled that there was a store around the corner that boasted 24 hours. It's probably where Petunia's husband was getting cheese so Lily knew that she needed her own excuse to go. She'd offered to get the cheese but Petunia made her stay, telling Lily she'd get into trouble on the streets...as if they didn't live in the most suburban town in all of England.

Lily tossed aside the decorative pillow and stood up. She straightened her pretty green dress that she'd worn for the dinner party she was promised. Now, without a party, it currently felt more appropriate to call it her funeral dress. Lily grabbed her puffy jacket and made a show of looking for something in the pockets.

"Well, fuck."

"Lily," Petunia begged from the kitchen, "not around the baby!"

Lily bit her tongue so she wouldn't say something that would start a fighting match. It was Petunia's house, Lily was just living in it. Lily continued her search in the couch cushions, making it dramatic everytime she didn't find what she was looking for.

"What on earth, Lily?" Petunia stood in the doorway looking confused, "lose your mind again?"

"Ha. Ha." Lily rolled her eyes and sent her sister a glare, "I need to run out really quick, I forgot to pick up my headache pills."

"The pharmacy is probably closed by now." Petunia clicked her tongue, "besides I have aspirin in my drawer you can take."

Lily should've known her sister would've found an excuse to keep her around. Petunia hated being alone and as such, Lily couldn't wait for the baby to be born so that Petunia could have something else to smother.

In order to get out of the house, Lily would have to come up with something that Petunia couldn't offer her.

"I need a cig."

Lily hadn't touched a cigarette since she was seventeen, but Petunia hated the habit. Naturally, Lily used it to get under her older sister's perfect skin. The effect was instantaneous. Petunia even went as far to put her hands on her belly.

"You're not smoking around _my_ baby."

Lily threw her jacket on with a coy laugh, "I'd never smoke in front of my favorite little nephew." Petunia relaxed but then Lily added, "I'll do it out on your stoop so that every one of your neighbors can see me."

Petunia put her foot down. "You really ought to quit! I read in _Housewife Digest_ that smoking is a gateway for high crime drugs."

"I was joking." Lily placed a kiss on her sister's cheek, "see you soon."

"If you're joking then what are you doing?!" Pet shouted after her, "where are you going?"

"Don't worry," Lily promised her sister as she pulled her jacket on, "I'll be back."

"You smoke off our property lines." Petunia shouted after her, almost perfectly imitating their long dead mother, "and in the new year, we're signing you up for AA meetings or something! You're going down a dangerous path."

"AA is for alcoholics, Pet!"

"Lily, I mean it, you—"

Lily closed the door on her sister's crazy monologue. Just as she made it to the end of the block she ran into her brother-in-law carrying a brown paper bag filled with cheese and beef. Lily offered Vernon a clever smile, knowing that he hated her. The feeling was mutual.

"Where are you going?" He huffed when he recognized her.

"Getting a few rubbers for the road." She laughed at his startled expression, "kidding, I'm getting some fresh air."

Vernon went red in the face, "I just got us cheese and beef."

The silver lining she was looking for, "gah, yeah I forgot you were out here. I'll grab a few beers instead."

She waved goodbye and skipped across the street before he could blow up on her.

Petunia and Vernon were so easy to get to, it really took no effort on her part. That's probably why she did it. She had never liked Vernon and Petunia had become almost unbearable since marrying him. They were both acting like Lily was a wayward orphan they'd taken off the street.

More than once, Lily heard her sister tell the neighbors, "yes, it's so sad, but she'll end up selling her body or doing drugs...she's been a rebel ever since our parents died. Vernon and I just know if we didn't watch over her something terrible would happen."

The truth was that Lily's ex boyfriend had turned out to be an abusive asshole who hit her once, too many times. Lily had come crying to Petunia for a place to live but she had a full time job and she was saving up for a townhome downtown. It wasn't like she was unemployed and squatting from place to place.

Lily was so ready to get out that she'd started watching the town Facebook for people looking for roommates. When she could, she babysat for her friends with children just for the chance to sleep someplace else. Of course, no one had needed her that night so she was stuck with her pregnant sister and the dud named Vernon.

Lily entered the nearby grocer store and welcomed the warmth from the heaters, unzipping her jacket and heading to the crisps aisle. She was going to grab her favorite snack and a six pack of her favorite cider for the road. Petunia wouldn't be happy Lily was bringing alcohol into the house, especially since Petunia banned it the day she found out she was pregnant. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Lily walked up to the counter and placed the two items on the conveyor belt. While the cashier rang her up, she started fishing in her pockets for money to pay. Instead of faking a search like she had at Petunia's, now she was really searching. All she found was her phone and a crumpled up dollar bill. She must've knocked her wallet out of her pocket in Petunia's living room.

"Fuck."

The cashier sighed deeply, as if she were ruining his day, "yes?"

She looked up at the cashier apologetically. "I forgot my wallet."

"No money and no ID," he said, "then no sale."

Lily shook her head. "No, please, I'm begging you."

"Lady go beg for your alcohol someplace else."

"I might sound like an alcoholic but I really do need that cider." She said, "please, I can bring the money later? I live just up the street!"

"No ID," he repeated, "no money. No sale."

Lily placed her hands on the register. The boy frowned even more, brushing his sandy blond hair out of his watery eyes.

"Listen," she glanced at his name tag to see the name Peter, "Peter, I gotta be honest with you, how beyond bored are you right now?"

Peter blinked at her, "this isn't exactly a rocking New Years Eve party, lady."

Lily let out a breath of air. "Yeah, take that feeling and multiply it by 10,000."

Peter wiggled his little nose, "I doubt that."

Lily leaned onto her elbow. "Did you just help an extremely rude man with a handlebar mustache?"

"Red sweater?"

"That's the one."

"Yeah, he bought the rest of our cheese and beef sticks."

"Terribly sorry about that," Lily said apathetically, "that man is my brother-in-law."

Peter shrugged, not looking Lily into her eyes. "He wasn't so bad, at least he brought money."

Lily slammed her fist down in response to his sass and the boy flinched. "Listen buddy, I don't know who kicked you in the balls to make you so this miserable on a holiday but if I go back without this alcohol, I might murder someone in that house, and I am not a naturally violent person."

"Oi!" A voice shouted from the double doors, "back off my mate, lady!"

Lily turned her fuming eyes around to find a bloke in a beanie and argyle sweater standing in the doorway with a wrapped plate. He pulled his beanie off and Lily took a step back in surprise. Fogged glasses or not, she recognized the boy right away.

"James?"

The boy used a free hand to pull off his glasses and his eyes widened, "Lily?!"

"What are you doing here?" They both blurted out at the same time.

"Oh good, you two know each other." Peter mumbled, rolling his eyes, "you can tell her to shove off then."

James shot his mate a look of disbelief. "Pete, this is the girl I told you about. The one that punched me in the face."

"Wait." Peter's mouth dropped and his eyes swiveled back to Lily, " _this_ is the girl that didn't text you back?"

"Yeah." James said, "the one and only."

Before Lily could protest or do anything, Peter grabbed her things and placed them behind his counter, "no sale lady, beat it."

Lily crossed her arms and eyed Peter, "beat what? You?"

"You gonna kick my arse in heels and a glittery dress?" Peter snorted, "I doubt it."

Lily's eyebrows shot up at the sheer audacity of Peter the store clerk.

James scratched his head behind Lily, likely remembering how hard she'd punched him. "Pete, take it from me, she could beat you in a fight with her eyes closed."

"She's like, 5'1, James."

Lily started taking off her jacket, "come back around that counter and see what 5'1 can do to you in heels."

James whistled, capturing her attention. She blew her red hair from her eyes and stared at him. His hazel eyes were wide as he placed the plate of food down just to clean his glasses.

"Not so sunshine-y today, Lily." James quipped. "What, did the Grinch steal your holiday spirit?"

"Have you ever been in a six hour meeting with no coffee and the only thing you're watching is black and white videos with no sound?" Lily asked sweetly as she cracked her knuckles and James took a wary step back.

"Can't say I have," James stared at her hands for a half second but then he boldly looked her in the eyes and said, "but I have waited two weeks for a girl to text me back after I introduced her to my reindeer."

Lily blinked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

James' eyebrows rose to his black hairline. "You gave me your number, remember?"

Lily nodded, "yeah, you never texted me. I assumed you weren't interested."

Peter picked up the tray of food James had placed down and started opening it up like he was at a movie and the food was his popcorn, "Here we go."

James placed his glasses back on his nose as if to look at her better. "Why wouldn't I be interested?"

"I dunno, because you didn't text me?" Lily said sarcastically as she flipped her hair over one shoulder.

"I tried!" James exclaimed, "you think I didn't try? Have you looked in a mirror? You're like Blake Lively if Blake Lively had red hair!"

Lily flushed and then she huffed, "get out your phone and read me the number you sent those texts too."

"Okay." James stubbornly pulled his phone out and started typing something into it.

"I'm surprised that he kept your number to be honest." Peter said from behind the counter. "He got drunk on Christmas night and swore to all of us that he wasn't going to bother waiting around for you."

James sent Peter a frown, "keep talking Pete, and I'll take back mum Potter's pot roast."

Peter shoved food into his mouth. "Mevermime."

James cut Peter off with the numbers. "Lily. 7911-123456."

Lily paused, "did you say 56?"

"Yeah."

"That was 58."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They both stared at each other awkwardly. Lily tucked her baby hairs behind her ear. James stared at his shoes, face red. Peter sat behind his counter eating a pile of food like he hadn't eaten in years.

"Don't stop," Peter motioned between them with his plastic fork after a few more silent moments, "this is the most entertainment I've had since five and old Lady Higgens tried to buy biscuits with a bingo card."

But before James or Lily could talk again, two boys were bursting through the doors with wild looks in their eyes. One of them had a paper scrunched in his hand, a determined look in his light eyes. The other looked like a magazine model in a tweed coat with eyeliner on his eyes like Johnny Depp in pirates of the Caribbean.

"We're falling behind!" The one with the paper demanded, "let's go James!"

"Wait!" Tweed coat had spotted Lily and looked her up and down before he turned back to the boy with the paper, "what did step four say again?"

"Find something red with green to bring and to sing." The other boy recited verbatim from the paper he opened.

"No." James spoke up immediately, "we can't take her!"

"Too late!" Tweed coat announced, "I'm not losing the New Year's Relay to my cousins for the second year in a row. She's coming!"

"I can't believe I'm missing out on the relay." Peter complained over his food, "I'm so good at the riddles."

"We lost last year because of you." Paper man deadpanned.

Peter chewed his food angrily, "you didn't have to _remind_ me."

"Excuse me!" Lily spoke up, "what's going on?"

Tween bowed to her, like he was royalty visiting fellow royalty, "my lady, we're in the middle of the fight of our lives and you fit riddle four."

Tweed started reaching for her hand but James karate chopped his hand down. "Ah, Sirius, you _don't_ want to be grabbing and running with this one."

Sirius stopped short and sent James a glare, "and why the Hell not?"

"This is Lily." James motioned painfully to her whole self. "You know, the one who punched me in the face and the ghosted me."

The boy with the paper let his eyes open up wider. "Oh, shit."

Sirius just grinned wider, "even more of a reason to bring her."

"Sirius no!" James groaned, hand going in his hair.

"Wait," Lily spoke up, eliciting all eyes on her, "what's going on? Where are you taking me?"

Sirius put his hands on his hips, "you got New Years plans, Lily?"

"She was going to beat up Peter and steal the alcohol she apparently needed to survive." James said sarcastically. "Walked in on her about to level Peter into the linoleum."

"Maybe he he had just let me take it and come back with a payment later..." Lily muttered, "I would've been a lot nicer."

"Why not just go get your money and come back?" Peter asked halfway through a bite.

Lily laughed, as if Peter had said something silly, "my sister would rather shackle me to the sofa than allow me to leave the house again since I had to practically run out twenty minutes ago."

James sniffed, "sounds like a personal problem."

"Alas," Lily turned deadly eyes on James, "I could've had a great night with this bloke I met in a Haunted House but he didn't text me back."

"You gave me the wrong number." James said.

"You clearly can't read numbers correctly." Lily replied.

The boy with the paper whistled at their banter, "damn, you were right James, she _is_ too good for you."

James smacked the boy while Sirius grabbed her wrist, "so anyways, you got nothing planned then?"

Lily eyed Sirius warily, "I was planning on getting drunk to make it through New Years."

"As fun as that sounds," Sirius waggled his eyebrows, "feel like helping a few neighbors regain their honor?"

"Was there any honor to be regained in the first place?" The boy with the paper had started fanning his face with it.

Sirius hit the boy, "shut up Remus, I'm trying to win here." He turned back to her. "You like adventures, Lily?"

"Yes?" she looked awkwardly over at James, who had his face in his hands and was shaking his head.

"Good." Sirius said, "come with us."

"Where?"

"I'll explain on the way."

Before Lily could protest, Sirius grabbed her hand and she was unceremoniously pulled out of the grocer before she even had a chance to put on her jacket. Behind Lily, she could hear James protesting her involvement. Sirius seemed bound and determined to keep Lily for an adventure that she hadn't entirely agreed too. Still, she'd risk a night with the boys to avoid a night with her family.

As far as highlights of the holiday went, Lily had to rate getting roped into a New Years Eve with two strangers and the hot boy she punched on Halloween as the strangest thing that's happened to her.

Ever.


	4. New Years Day

James flicked Sirius off in that moment as they started escorting Lily out the double doors. Sirius stuck his tongue out at James as they walked onto the cold streets. The air had only turned more frigid while she'd been arguing with Peter. Lily started putting her jacket on again just to fight the chilly air.

"So what's happening?" She asked Sirius as they piled into a tiny car.

She was squeezed between Sirius and the one they called Remus. James was driving. In the passenger seat there were a bunch of miscellaneous objects that had no similar qualities. From what Lily could see in her seat, there was half a fruit cake, a book by William Shakespere, a set of fireworks, a handful of burned chestnuts and what looked like a plastic ring out of a gumball machine.

"Are you boys hoarders or are these unwanted Christmas gifts?" Lily motioned to the pile of things.

"Welcome to the New Year's Relay." Sirius announced to Lily like he was on a game show, "it's a long-loved tradition dating back over twenty years between unfriendly neighbors and dastardly heros."

Lily blinked at Sirius, "I can't tell if you're taking the mickey out on me."

"He's not." James adjusted his mirrors, "all these things are the prizes to riddles we have to figure out."

"And why did you need me?" Lily asked as the car heaters were turned up as high as they could go.

"You're a prize." Sirius said.

Lily's eyebrows flew up into her hairline even more, "pardon?"

"He means you fit as an answer to a riddle." Remus passed her the crumpled paper in his hands. "We're given these riddles and we have to solve them. First team to bring back all ten objects wins."

"You fit number four." James said, "red and green, brought to sing."

Lily used the streetlight to read the riddles.

  1. _Wherever cinnamon rolls are baked find and steal one fruit cake_
  2. _Skiing in the alps sounds really nice but without this object, movies will have to suffice_
  3. _To be or not to be this season, your next object is Elizabethan_
  4. _Find something red with green to bring and to sing_
  5. _The bangin' Katy Perry song ___ was a Teenage Dream_
  6. _This house made of red bricks cradles object number six_
  7. _Pictures last forever so take one on this last day of december_
  8. _Chestnuts roasting by an open fire are the next things you must acquire_
  9. _When the clock strikes midnight we will ___ in the New Year_
  10. _Last but not least, bring home a furry beast to eat the leftover feast_



Lily looked up from the paper to meet the gaze of James in the rearview mirror. He looked away quickly, his face darkening more despite the dullness of the car interior. Lily looked back down at the paper and then to the objects piled in the passenger seat. She assumed the objects piled on the seat matched to a corresponding riddle.

"So you guys are almost done." She deduced by matter of elimination, "what ones do you still need to solve?"

Remus leaned over her arm to point at number two. "We know the answer to number two is snow, but we're waiting to get that last because of its melting properties."

"We got disqualified last year because our hot chocolate was cold." Sirius sounded bitter still, "so we're not risking that shit again."

"What about the one about the brick house?" Lily asked, "that riddle seems tricky."

"Oh, we know what house." Sirius crossed his knees.

"Who's house is it?"

"Peter's house." James said.

"The bloke in the grocery store?"

Sirius nodded. "We looked all around his place, but we found nothing inside."

"And unfortunately," James said, "Peter's father took out his hearing aids so that he couldn't hear us asking where the damn prize was."

"The house with red bricks cradles object number six." Lily hummed and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "There was nothing inside?"

"Nope."

"Not even another riddle?"

Remus smacked his lips together, "we looked in every room of that house but none of us could crack what the riddle meant."

Lily repeated the riddle over and over to herself. She loved little word plays and that was all that a riddle really was. She knew if she worked at it enough, she might just be able to come up with an answer. It was clear the boys had exhausted all their power. Sometimes it helped to have a fresh mind work on a difficult puzzle.

"The house with red bricks cradles object number six...number six...cradle...wait! _Cradle_!"

All three boys perked up and Lily made her arms gather in front of her like she was holding a baby. James tilted his head in the rear view at her. Sirius chewed his lip, clearly not catching on to her maiming. Remus put his hand in his chin and stared at her like he was thinking deeply. Lily sighed dramatically and unwrapped her arms so she could motion at all three clueless boys.

"A baby cradle!" Lily exclaimed, "the riddle is talking about a baby cradle!"

"Listen." Sirius said bluntly, "I guarantee you that Peter's family doesn't own a cradle, he's had his race car twin bed ever since he got potty trained."

James, finding Sirius' comment funny, covered his laugh with a cough. Lily simply thought harder. No babies in the house meant no cradles, and from what the boys insinuated there hadn't been a crib for a long time. There probably wasn't one hidden away with Christmas decorations in the attic either.

"It's not like cradles are particularly popular Christmas-wait!" Lily's mind switched gears so fast that she accidentally punched Remus in the arm with excitement.

Remus yelped and rubbed his arm where Lily had hit him. "Damn, James was right, you have a wicked serve."

Lily ignored Remus and asked James, "does Peter's family have a Nativity scene?"

James' head turned so quick in her direction that he probably got whiplash. "Holy shit-you're brilliant Lily!"

James totally read her mind, knowing exactly where her brain was headed. She beamed at his praise and her smile was so wide that all her teeth were showing. James put the car into the drive and started racing down the icy roads. He was a man on a mission. Sirius scratched his head next to Lily, clearly still stumped.

"Anyone going to explain what she figured out?"

"A nativity scene." Lily told Sirius, "it's a Christian holiday display of baby Jesus in the manger."

"Of course." Remus said, "that's brilliant!"

"The manger was the baby's cradle." Lily told Sirius, "that's where the prize is, I'd bet my life on it."

"Peter's family has that ugly lightened plastic display in their backyard." James spoke up from the driver's seat. "I watched his mum put it up every year since we were kids."

Sirius whistled and tossed one arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. "Well, I'm glad I made you come now."

Lily grinned at her new friend. "I had nothing better to do."

"If we win," Sirius said, "you're totally invited to next year's relay too."

They drove into busy developed streets lined with houses so close together that the alleyways in between only looked large enough for slinky alley cats. James pulled to a stop in front of a house with lighted crosses in every window. Lily had a feeling they were in the right spot so she zipped up her coat and stuffed the paper of riddles into the front seat. The team of four raced through the slim alley between two houses until a tall chain link fence stopped them.

Suddenly, without warning, James was climbing the chain link like a kid on monkey bars. He was up and over to the other side in a matter of seconds. His athletic nature impressed Lily, making her check him out more closely in the darkness. She wondered what he looked like with his shirt off. His arms must be really nice. Remus only chuckled at her expression.

"He learned a lot about getting over fences while working with alligators at the London Zoo." Remus told her. "James could scale any fence in seconds."

"Impressive." Lily replied, voice cracking from the cold.

"If you think that's impressive." Sirius said from her other side, "you should see him naked."

"Smooth segway, wingman." Lily crossed her arms and sent Sirius a smile.

Sirius held up his hands innocently. "I am just trying to get you to reconsider ghosting my best mate because from what I can tell so far, you two belong together."

"I didn't ghost him." Lily told Sirius.

"You didn't text him back." Sirius frowned, "we were all privy to the drama for days."

Lily shook her head, "Look, your best mate forgot how numbers work and misdialed me."

Suddenly, from inside the yard James' voice rang out, "Lily was right!"

"I'm always right!" She shouted at James, "but right about what this time? My number or the riddle?!"

"Just the riddle!"

"I am never wrong!"

"My misdialed number would like to disagree!" James sang from somewhere near the ugly plastic nativity scene.

"Did you want to win this riddle relay?" She shouted back to him, "or do you want to continue this pleasant conversation over tea and scones after we lose?"

Sirius' eyes widened at her, marvel clear in his eyes. "Never mind, you're too good for him."

Lily threw her head back and laughed, "thanks, but something tells me that I'm not your type."

"You're my type." Sirius said, "my boyfriend is just as pretty and sarcastic as you."

Remus sighed, "keep talking, Sirius, and you're sleeping alone for the rest of the year."

"So four-ish hours?" Sirius pretended to count on his fingers, "I could do it."  
"Prat."

Remus punched Sirius' arm from behind Lily as James climbed back over the chain link. He landed on his feet right next to Lily and held open his palm. He was carrying a neon bracelet that shone green in the night. Lily clapped her hands together in excitement.

"I cracked the riddle!" she cheered, "yes!"

She looked up from her little party dance to find that James was shaking his head at her. He was clearly amused by her elated reaction to the bracelet. The neon glow was lighting up his face in the darkness and that somehow only made him more handsome. She stopped dancing to wink at him but before he could react, they were quickly ushered to the car by Remus.

"I will not be late because you two are making doe-eyes at each other." Remus said, "if I have to pass Narcissa in the sweets aisle every week, I'd better get New Years bragging rights."

"We aren't making doe-eyes." James rolled his eyes as they all piled into the getaway car. "We've only just gotten acquainted."

"Doesn't mean you haven't been checking her out every ten minutes." Sirius said as he squeezed into the seat between Lily and Remus.

"It's only fair." Remus chirped, "because she's been staring at him since he jumped that fence."

Lily snorted, "I just want to know how someone with a stick figure can jump a fence like a fucking deer."

James pretended to lift weights. "The guns under this sweater are impeccable."

"What's the next riddle?" Lily asked, changing the subject before she thought too much about James with his shirt off.

"We need a furry beast to bring to a feast." James recited almost perfectly, "and, before you suggest it Sirius, we are not stealing a tiger from the zoo."

"Oh, come on!"

Sirius crossed his arms like a child as he settled into his seat beside Lily. Remus chuckled, clearly finding Sirius' disgruntled huff funny. James, meanwhile, was looking at something on his phone.

He was scrolling down his notes."What beast could we bring to a feast?"

Lily raised her hand slightly. "Uh, I have a cat?"

"Cats are technically beasts." Sirius said with a shrug of agreeance, "but I prefer dogs."

Lily pretended to scoot away from Sirius. "Dog people can't be trusted."

"Cat people can't be trusted." Sirius shot back, "you die and your cat will eat your body raw!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "So would a dog!"

"You can't tell me that you think a golden retriever could commit murder."

"It's not murder if you're already dead."

"Your logic won't win this fight."

James was already putting the car back in drive. "Alright Lily, stop arguing with the village idiot and give me directions to your cat."

Lily led the boys to Petunia's house without delay. James was a fast driver and she was pretty sure they almost died twice on the icy roads. When he parked in front of Petunia's place, the car even slid forward, forcing James to put the parking brake on. Petunia's windows were lit but there was nothing cheery about the house.

Lily almost asked her new friends to wait inside the car. She didn't think they'd totally fit in but before she could suggest they hang back, Sirius was already getting out of the car. Sirius led the way as Lily tried to stop them with pitiful attempts. Sirius and James were letting themselves into the house while Lily tried to apologize for her sister and brother-in-law.

Lily heard the uproar of Vernon first and winced.

"Get out of my house hooligans!" Vernon was screaming, "who the hell are you! Out! Out! I'll call the police! I'll go get the-Lily what are you doing?!"

Lily entered the house just as Petunia screamed and dropped the fresh cheese tray on the ground. Sirius didn't even bother to stop despite Vernon's protests. Lily vaguely wondered if Sirius had a death wish or, even more so, if he might be a bit unhinged.

"What room is your cat in?"

"Evie! Her name is Evie!" Sirius was already halfway up the stairs so Lily shouted after him. "She's the second door on the far left! She's got a carrier!"

"Lily!" Petunia stood in shock over her collection of carefully cut cheeses, "what are you doing, letting total strangers into our house?"

James, as if trying to be helpful, stuck his hand out to Petunia. "James Potter, pleasure."

Petunia just stared at James' hand in horror.

James withdrew his hand and awkwardly scratched the back of his head while he joked, "now I'm not a stranger."

"Get these hooligans out of my house!" Vernon shouted at Lily, "they aren't welcome here and neither are you, if you're going to be dumb and reckless enough to hang out with tools like these!"

James turned his attention to Vernon, nothing but wicked in his eyes. Vernon didn't back down, despite James looking at him like a tiger about to pounce. Lily covered her mouth to hide her sigh but James caught it and sent her a wink. When James turned back to Vernon he crossed his arms.

"You're quite the ugly fellow." James licked his lips. "It's no wonder that Lily chose to hang out with us, instead of you."

"How dare you." Petunia hissed, "disrespectful, walking right into a strangers house with no warning and ruining our holiday."

"While I agree we should've knocked before barging in," James said, "we didn't know Lily lived with you."  
Vernon scoffed, "the girl can't afford her bills, let alone a house."

Lily flushed at Vernon's unkind pointed sneer in her direction. James looked furious, almost to the point that he might hit Vernon on Lily's behalf. Luckily, Sirius came bounding down the stairs fifteen seconds later. He was holding the fluffiest black cat in history. He was more focused on the challenge, trying to win whatever game they were playing. Lily turned back apologetically to her sister, who looked as if Lily had shot her.

"Sorry about barging in, we're trying to win this riddle thing." Lily told her sister, "I'll be back later."

Petunia sniffed, "don't bother coming back tonight if you walk out that door."

Lily blinked, letting Petunia's threat settle. Petunia stood upright taller when Venon nodded his agreement. Sirius looked around, almost seeming surprised by the tension in the room. James was not being held down by Remus, who had a hand on James' shoulder.

"Fine." Lily said softly, "I'll spend the night with James."

"Yeah!" James called in support, "she can stay the night with me!"

"This is a new low for you, Lily." Petunia said, aghast, "fraternizing with strangers like a sidewalk girl."

"James isn't a stranger." Lily grabbed James' hand. "And I didn't pick him up on the sidewalk either."

"Yeah, Lily met me on Halloween after she broke my nose."

"Romantic." Sirius checked his watch, "can we wrap this up before we lose?"

James tugged Lily closer before he shot one last look at Petunia and Vernon. "I wouldn't worry about her staying here much longer, I think a free room is going to open up in her social circle very soon."

Petunia was shrieking Lily's name long after the door had shut and James had pulled her out into the cold. Lily was pressing her free hand to her forehead, taking in a deep breath. She really should've asked the boys to stay in the car but it was nice to have people help back her up in the arguments with her family. James' hand remained tight in her own.

"Lovely family." James said as he held her hand while she got into the car. "We should go back and invite them over for tea tomorrow."

"Let's not." Lily said, "but if you seriously have a free room, I'll jump at the chance to live away from them again."

"How did you even end up in that place?" Remus asked as he took Evie the cat from Sirius' arms so Sirius could buckle his seat.

Lily brushed her hair from her eyes. "A relationship ended poorly and I didn't have anywhere else to go."

James turned on the car. Lily took her cat from Remus and Evie settled into Lily's lap. Lily pet Evie's soft fur while James cranked on the heat. Sirius braided his hair as he surveyed the list of riddles.

"I think we have everything but snow." Sirius announced to the car, "let's go!"

"Okay, okay." James turned in his seat, "Lily do you need anything else from inside before we go? I meant it, you can stay at my place tonight. My family won't mind."

"I don't want to go back in there," Lily said, "so I'll just sleep in my dress."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to go back in there either." James decided before pulling the car into the street.

"I wouldn't fully believe they'd let any of us back in that house." Remus chuckled, "we didn't make a great first impression.

"When do we ever?" James deadpanned from the driver's seat, "there's a reason we've all been on the same New Year's Relay team since we were sixteen."

"That's one reason." Sirius said, "but it's also because the other team is led by Satan's mistress, Bellatrix."

"She is the literal worst person on earth." Remus conceded, "a Class A bitch, to put it nicely."

Lily held her cat close, "so there are only two teams?"

"It used to be three," Remus explained, "but the Longbottom's moved once our mate Frank got married to our other friend Alice. They were the leaders of the other team."

"When they left," Sirius said, "Peter moved from their team to ours."

"How pissed is Peter that he's missing this year?" Lily asked, "he seemed bitter in the store."

"He's so mad." Sirius barked a laugh, "he tried to call in sick, but they told him that if he dared they fire him."

"He was happy once James brought some of Mrs. Potter's New Years Eve dinner." Remus said, "he snapchatted me an empty plate."

"I'm still digesting my second plate." Sirius clapped his hand on his belly, "might go for thirds."

"Think you can nick me a plate?" Lily asked Sirius, "I haven't had dinner yet."

"Don't tell me that cheese tray was supposed to be dinner." James sounded disgusted from the front seat.

"It was."

"Thank God we found you when we did." Sirius said, "or you'd be having a lot of whine with that cheese."

That joke made them all laugh. The car drove through the icy roads carefully, James taking them back to wherever the relay riddle game had originated. Lily found herself comfortable amongst her new friends as they joked and sang Christmas songs horribly.

"So what do you win?" Lily asked as James turned them onto a lighted neighborhood.

"Bragging rights for the rest of the year." Remus said.

"Bragging rights." Sirius repeated with a shrug.

James grinned, "we only do it for bragging rights."

"That's valid."

"My cousins have won for the last two years." Sirius said darkly. "I know they cheat, but I can never prove it."

"How does one cheat at this game?" Lily twirled her hair around her finger.

"If you get the riddles before everyone else you can try to find the objects earlier." Remus said while picking his fingernails. "We have reason to believe that Sirius' cousin Bellatrix sneaks into the office where James' parents keep the riddle, but we just can't catch her in the act."

"We've tried everything." James explained, "everything short of setting a camera trap up."

"Yeah, and that's only because we always forget to set one up until we're playing the game." Remus said, "but next year you can bet we're gonna catch her."

They pulled in front of a rather large townhome covered in old fashioned colored lights. There was a golden menorah in the main window with a decorated tree a little farther into the main room. The wide open curtains gave way to a merry scene of beautifully dressed people laughing over cider and wine. It looked almost like a Christmas card and made Lily pause as she got out of the car with Evie smashed in her arms.

"Who lives here?" Lily asked as the boys gathered their inanimate possessions.

"James' family." Sirius said, "and I have a bedroom upstairs, but I spent most of my time with Remus."

"You and James are brothers?" Lily blinked in surprise, as they were both very different looking.

"Sirius is a unofficial member of my family." James explained as he pulled a cup out of nowhere and scooped old road snow into it. "As far as his blood family is concerned, Sirius is a Potter."

"Long story," Sirius said as he helped Lily from the car, "but my parents are major homophobic racists with little in the way of redemption."

The little party made their way up the stairs and through a red front door covered in hand cut snowflakes. Hot air hit Lily's face as she entered a small area where coats were hung up to keep dry and warm. She shifted out of her jacket and hung it up. Remus held Evie while she straightened her dress and hung up her coat. When she turned back around, she caught James checking her out again.

"Like what you see?"

He flushed in response to getting caught. "Sorry."

Lily put a hand on her hip. "I didn't ask you to stop."

James looked overjoyed at that.

Before the little party could do anything else, another crew of people walked through the door. Three girls and one boy. The woman leading the pack had curly black hair that seemed to only make her look as crazy as each spiral. At her side was a thin blonde with a similar nose to Petunia. Backing the group up was a woman with light brown curls and she was holding the shoulders of a young man holding a bunch of miscellaneous items.

"Look what the witch brought in." Sirius leaned on Remus' arm and sneered, "forget your broomstick at home Bella?"

The curly haired girl pushed past Sirius and Evie hissed at her. "You won't be talking so big when we beat you and your pathetic friends for the third year in a row."

Lily crossed her arms and said loudly, "you're calling me pathetic?"

Bella turned her sneer on Lily. "Oh look," she flashed her teeth, "you boys brought home Pippi Longstocking and her ugly black cat."

"First of all, fuck you, I love Pippi Longstocking." Lily said, "second of all, the boys aren't going to lose because they've got something this year they've never had."

"And what's that?"

"Me." Lily said, "and I'm more competitive and willing than all three of these boys put together."

"Yeah!" James said loudly, "she's the smartest person in this room and she can kick all our asses! But she won't kick ours! Because she's on our team! Not yours!"

Remus pinched his nose. "Eloquent, James."

The girl with light brown hair let out a twinkle of a laugh. Everyone turned to look at her. She had a mysterious air about her as she moved past everyone. Bella looked at her in a way that rivaled jealousy. Lily wondered if they were sisters.

"Looks like we finally have decent competition this year." The beautiful girl sang to Lily.

Bella snarled, "let's just go get this over with."

James fell into step with Lily as they all made their way into the main room. Lily met his gaze and she gave him a smile. He shoved his shoulder into hers playfully. Evie crawled out of Lily's grasp and into James' hold.

James said, "I hope you're still up for tea when this is all over."

"What kind of tea?" Lily quipped as she watched James nuzzle Evie.

"Does it matter?"

"Have you ever had ginger spiced tea?"

"No?" James scratched Evie's head.

"It tastes like piss."

"Have you tasted piss?" James raised a brow in her direction.

"Have you?" Lily countered.

"I'm a veterinary student, I've had a lot of weird things in or around my mouth."

Lily wrinkled her nose. "gross, James."

He just laughed. "Tigers are notorious for waiting until you're yawning and then mutilate any shred of self-respect you had."

"Remind me to steer clear of tigers."

James grinned her way, "I can take you out to the zoo, get you real up close and personal."

"Hard pass."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Just take me on a normal date please."

James brought Evie to his face and gave Lily puppy-dog eyes, "so you'll still go out with me?"

Lily smirked and hip checked him, "only if you promise to take a shower and brush your teeth before we meet."

They entered a large room filled with people mostly over the age of 55 drinking and laughing over finger sandwiches. A flat screen on the farthest wall was showing people in America starting to gather for their own New Years party in New York. When the two groups of young adults entered the party, everyone started calling out at once.

"Welcome home kids!" A drunk woman called from near a fireplace.

"Where's the fire?!" An older gentleman in a tie joked with Sirius as he pushed through the crowd.

"I hope you broke the Pettigrew's old nativity scene so they'll have to finally buy a new one!" A pretty blonde called to Bella's crew.

"There's the motley crew!" A man who looked mysteriously like James opened his arms to the group of riddle seekers, "back from their adventures at the same time this year!"

"And they brought home a new girl!"

"Oh, she's got legs for days."

"Eyes off her legs, Mundungus!" James threatened the bloke who spoke up not too far from Lily.

An old lady with grey hair asked excitedly, "is she single?"

Lily spoke for herself, "I am currently single but that could change very soon."

The old lady smacked her lips over her glass. "Well we can change that sooner than later honey, my grandson is single and a veterinarian!"

James smacked his forehead next to Lily, "thanks, Gran, but I told you that I'm not a veterinarian yet!"

"Bah," Gran waved James' concern away, "you're practically a doctor!"

"Yeah, thanks Gran," Lily clasped her hands together and sent James wide eyes, " _practically_ a doctor?"

"Alright, alright enough chatter people!" The nasty girl, Bella, was standing on a coffee table and calling for full attention. "We need the judge to check our objects so that I can spend the rest of the night reminding my baby cousin Sirius how worthless he is."

Lily winced and leaned closer to Remus in order to hiss. "Wow, she's a gem."

"Your family is a step up." Remus hissed back, "I'd take your housemates over Bella anyday."

James leaned in to add his own opinion on the curly haired woman. "We wish she'd go back to the hellish crevice she crawled out of but she seems determined to continue trying to convince people that she's not a spawn of Satan."

Lily had to stifle her laugh with her hand. A woman with dark brown hair threaded with grey got on the table next to Bella and looked out through the crowd of people. She wore a pretty blue dress that fit her thin form so perfectly, it looked like it was made only for her. Lily couldn't help but think that the woman had a warm smile despite her pointed and upturned nose.

"You lot know the drill!" The woman was stern and clapped her hands like a primary school teacher, "objects for each team must be presented to me, the one and only judge!"

Slowly, the groups laid out their treasures in front of the woman. Lily crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby hutch as she watched the woman inspect every object. When James handed over Evie, the woman grabbed the cat and proceeded to hold her tightly.

Suddenly, someone touched Lily's elbow from behind, "sweetheart, did you need anything?"

Lily turned to find a woman with brown curls and wrinkled eyes staring at her in concern. She had the same color eyes as James. Lily tucked her hair behind her ear before throwing her thumb in the direction of the team of boys.

"I'm with the boys." Lily held her hand to the woman, "my name is Lily."

"Lily." The woman sounded surprised. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Potter."

"Your son has your eyes." Lily said kindly.

"He got everything else from his father." Mrs. Potter chuckled before she asked, "how did you get roped into this?"

"Uh," Lily said as she pulled back her hand, "it's still kind of a blur."

Mrs. Potter nodded, "this night is always full of surprises."

"How long has this...game...been going on?" Lily asked as Remus threatened to skin Bella alive if she even so much as suggested that they didn't deserve full points for half a fruit cake.

"To be honest," Mrs. Potter said, "we made the game up to get the kids out of our hair so we could talk shit about them over wine and then it just became an annual thing."

"That's amazing." Lily said, "and how long do you think you can keep it going?"

"Well." Mrs. Potter put a wine glass closer to her mouth to take a tiny sip, "all our children are 21 or older now and it's still going strong."

The older woman on the table whistled for attention before announcing, "both teams have submitted their items for inspection!"

"Wait!" Bella cried, "the Marauders Team didn't find something red and green to sing!"

"Wrong!" Sirius pointed at Lily, "The Marauders submit Lily as an object!"  
"Her?"

Everyone turned to stare at Lily who suddenly considered ducking behind Mrs. Potter. Bella jumped down from her table and came to stand in front of Lily with a very nasty grin. Lily wanted to punch the stupid grin off her face.

"She doesn't count." Bella announced to everyone, "how does she count?"

Lily put a hand on her hip and said smartly, "I'm a redhead in a green dress and I'm going to sing to you."

"The riddle didn't say the red and green thing couldn't be a human!" Sirius defended the actions of his team like he was a lawyer in court, "she's red and green!"

"Fine." Bella hissed at Lily. "Sing. Now."

"Erm...uh…" Lily gelt her cheeks flame an even darker red as she raised her voice, " _just a small town girl...livin' in a lonely world...she took the midnight train goin' anywhere…_ "

Bella scoffed when Lily tapered off. "She can barely sing."

"Nothing in the riddle said she had to be a good singer!" James jumped to Lily's defense. "Besides, your video of a red and green parrot singing Toxic by Britney Spears was way less impressive than Lily!"

Bella spun on her heel to face James with venom in her eyes. "Come over here and tell me that parrot wasn't the cutest fucking thing you've ever seen!"

James shoved his hands into his pocket casually. "I'm sorry, but did you miss the whole ass beautiful woman standing next to you? Or should I let you borrow my glasses so you can see what a winning entry looks like?"

Bella snarled, "I'm going to _kill_ you, Potter."

"Touch him, and I'll make you wish you'd killed me instead." Lily warned Bella before she could go after James.

"Is that a threat?" Bella asked.

"A promise." Lily countered.

"James better marry this girl." Sirius muttered to Remus behind his palm.

"Enough!" The woman on the table called, "or I'll disqualify the next person who speaks!"

"Minerva is a judge." Mrs. Potter reminded everyone, "so she decides what objects are valid in the game or not!"

James and Bella both shut up, but they didn't look any more happy about their silence. Lily had never been so entertained in her life, especially since James had just given her such a glaringly obvious compliment. He didn't know it yet, but she was snogging the daylights out of him the second she got him alone.

"The winners of this year's relay, winning by two points for creative item usage...our Team Marauder..." Minerva motioned to the boys' team with the cat still in her arms, "Potter, Lupin and Black!"

The boys erupted into cheers, hugging and thumping each other on the back. Then they all encircled Lily and hugged her too. Sirius must've kissed each of them ten times. Mrs. Potter passed out tiny little pins to the boys. Bella left them alone, sulking by the drinks table with her team. Meanwhile, Lily found herself the center of attention as she was dragged willingly around the party.

She had so much fun the rest of the night. James didn't leave her side at all and their hands stayed intertwined as often as possible. It just felt so natural to have him at her side, like it had been from the day they met. Lily loved that James spent his time making sure to introduce her to everyone at the party. Finally, after all the rounds had been made, she got him alone near the kitchen.

She'd gotten him to take her to the empty kitchen for leftover food. They sat on the counters and joked while they both ate warm stew and bread. Closer to midnight, James handed Lily a glass filled with champagne. She drank it slowly and kept her eyes locked on him. When she lowered the glass, he smiled and she felt like fireworks had already gone off.

He took her free hand. "I wish I had gotten that number right."

"New Year, new you." She wrapped one arm around his waist, "a new opportunity to get us right."

Lily leaned into her left hip and kissed him softly under the glowing candles in the kitchen. The countdown to the New Year had begun in the other room but Lily didn't even care. Her fingers wrapped into the hair at the base of his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her in even closer. Fireworks erupted around them and people were screaming with celebratory chatter. Lily stayed lost in the highlight of her holiday, finding everything unrelated to the way James was kissing her completely irrelevant.


End file.
